Master of Water
by Alex Glaven
Summary: Akiko and Elena The chosen master of water will be a native son of Lemuria..." the legend read. A story of Lemuria's past, and the future of one Lemurian who knew nothing of it
1. Default Chapter

Master of Water  
  
By: Akiko and Elena  
  
Prologue  
  
Soft blue light shone faintly through the ice. Lines of shimmering water the same azure shade sliced through the walls and across the floor, its soft glow reflecting off of the frozen, faceted surfaces of the cave.  
  
Picard placed glove fingers gently where the glow originated. He sent a tendril of power through the leather encasing his hand, willing the ice to melt, the liquid joining the water rushing through the linear cracks. He reached through the hole he had created and felt the stirrings of an ancient power. He hesitated for a moment before allowing his fingers to rest on the glowing half-sphere that felt so much like the Black Orb he used to control his ship. The strangely warm crystal responded to his touch, its glow intensifying. A deep, resonating hum crashed through the room. The sheer power peeled the leather of his gloves back to his knuckles. The crystal vibrated, another throbbing hum unleashed, the sound echoeing against walls of ice.  
  
"...What is it?" his burgendy haired companion asked softly, her voice tinted with awe. The ice in front of him shattered with the next pulsing sound, and a staff, its base hovering a few inches from the floor, floated to his now gloveless hand. He took a hold of it, unable to count the times the familiar silver handle had sat in his grip.  
  
He turned to the girl who had asked such a foolish question, and without thought lunged for her. He grabbed her shoulder with his free hand and shoved her against the ice wall. He raised his staff with the other hand, the crystal at her throat, poised to kill. She barely had time to release a startled gasp.   
  
"Picard! Have you gone insane?!" another voice, male, pierced through the fog entrapping his mind. Agony blossomed at the back of his skull and he stumbled back, still gripping the staff. He dropped to his knees on the ice, splashing water in the channels still flowing from where his staff had been. Strangers loomed around him in the blue hazing his vision.  
  
And he remembered. 


	2. Chapter 1

Master of Water  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Psynergy cascaded around him, deep blue like the ocean near the horizon, clear like water spilling between fingers, white like the foam capping the waves, the palest of blues like the great ice caps in the North, tinted with green like the ponds in the deep forest. Ever changing, ever returning, like the element he controlled.  
  
He lowered his hands, his sleeves and ice-white hair settling from the soft breeze that had accompanied the display of power. The light surrounding him spun slowly before fading out into azure sparkles. His lights ceased to glow, returning to their pale blue color.  
  
A soft, sad smile filled those eyes, and he turned, holding one hand out.  
  
"You're the Master of Water…"  
  
***  
  
Picard blinked. He was crouched in the ice, a silver staff in his hand. He stood slowly before realizing that his friends and traveling companions were standing around him, looking at him wearily. Jenna backed up a few paces, her eyes full of something akin to fear.  
  
"I'm…" he began, quite unsure what to say.  
  
*I could have killed Jenna…*  
  
The memory attacked his senses, nearly driving him to his knees. He looked into the Mars Adept's eyes, taking a step towards her, one hand held out to her. "Jenna…I…I didn't mean-"  
  
"Stay back," Felix stepped between them, drawing his sword.  
  
Picard blinked in confusion, looking around the circle they had created around him. Distrust showed plainly in their eyes.*Of course they don't trust you, they have every reason to do so.   
  
*They know your power, they know what you can do…*  
  
He shook his head, unsure where the thought had come from. His gaze was drawn to the staff in his hand. The blue crystal fixed to the top filled his vision, and the vision returned to him.  
  
It felt like a memory, but before that moment he couldn't remember anything quite that bizarre happening to him.  
  
"Picard…are you okay?" Mia asked softly.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine," he replied, not turning his attention away from the staff.  
  
"What is that?" Garet reached out hesitantly to touch the crystal. When Picard didn't chastise him or answer the question, he allowed his fingers to rest lightly on the orb.  
  
There was a flash of blue light, and a gust of icy air so strong that it knocked the large Mars Adept up against the wall of the cave. He slid to the ground, rubbing his head.  
  
"Garet!" Mia turned to him, quickly casting Ply. The Mars Adept lowered his hand, and shot a grateful grin at her.  
  
"What was that," Isaac had his sword out now. "Picard, what's going on? This is definitely beyond normal."  
  
He tore his gaze away from the depths of the crystal to meet Isaac's eyes. The Venus Adept was glaring at him with suspicion and animosity. Picard never thought he would receive such emotions from the leader he had grown to respect despite his young years.  
  
"I don't-"  
  
"Why did you attack Jenna?!" this seemed to be the most pressing question. Even Garet's open curiosity was replaced by hostility.  
  
"I…I just did," he wasn't sure how to explain it. The sudden need to kill, the abrupt necessity to simply be away. "I didn't mean to attack her…I just did. I just-"  
  
He decided to fall silent. The broken sentences weren't making sense, not even to him.  
  
**But I don't know why I wanted to attack her.*  
  
"And what is that thing?" Garet pointed at the staff. "And why was it here?"  
  
"Why did it do that when Garet touched it?" Mia asked.  
  
Garet nodded in support. "Yeah, why did it do that?"  
  
Picard would have laughed at the Mars Adept, if the circumstances had been different. Even as it was, he felt a heavy sadness in his soul. The fear in his friend's eyes felt so familiar…but he had never been looked at with such hatred by anyone other that the Mandrans and Conservato…had he?  
  
"I don't know," he murmured.  
  
"You were the one that dragged us in here to find it, and you don't even know what it is?" Sheba asked tentatively. "That's just a little odd, Picard."  
  
"She's right," Ivan, who had been as silent as his fellow Jupiter Adept, nodded.  
  
"Let's go inside," Jenna suggested, her voice slightly shrill. "It's…it's cold in here."  
  
Picard made as if to go to her, to show her he felt nothing against her, but Felix's sword was raised again, and he subsided. Jenna turned and walked out of the cave, and with silent agreement the rest of them followed her.  
  
***  
  
"*I was talking to Sheba in the cave,*" Ivan's voice echoed in Isaac's mind. "*And she felt it too. There is more than one mind in that body.*"  
  
Isaac made to reply, but Ivan withdrew swiftly from his mind.  
  
"The Master of Water," Picard, who was walking next to him, whispered softly.  
  
"What?" Isaac looked at him.  
  
The Lemurian glanced over, but refrained from answering. 


End file.
